The alleged financier and organiser of an international syndicate accused of rigging soccer matches has been arrested with 13 others in Singapore, only days after the Victorian Premier League arrests shocked Australian sport.

But investigators said the two men had a spectacular falling out over Mr Perumal's gambling problems and Mr Tan had sent him to Europe in an attempt to set him up for arrest. That backfired when Mr Perumal became a supergrass under police protection in Hungary, investigators said.

Singaporean authorities confirmed that 12 men and two women aged 38 to 60 were detained in a 12-hour operation.

Names were not released, but investigators confirmed that Mr Tan, who has been linked to dozens of alleged match fixes in Europe, was among them.

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European police earlier this year named Singapore as a base for an international syndicate that had fixed hundreds of matches across the world.

Mr Tan was indicted last year by Italian and Hungarian prosecutors for alleged match-fixing.

An Italian inquiry had painted a sketchy picture of Mr Tan and his syndicate, which used Milan as a gateway for their operations in Italy. They stayed at hotels near Milan's airport. Mr Tan always paid the bills in cash.

One of the matches he is alleged to have fixed is a match in Tuscany on May 23, 2010, one of hundreds of games on which European law enforcement focused during a two-year investigation.

Near the start of the match Mr Tan allegedly spoke on the phone to a Croation associate, saying he needed three goals to be scored in the match between Grosseto and Reggina.

"No problem," the associate said, explaining he had someone working for him at the match.

Italian prosecutors said the match was fixed with that simple exchange.

Mr Tan denied any involvement in match-fixing in an interview with a Singaporean newspaper in 2011.

Singapore police said earlier this year Mr Tan was assisting them with their inquiries after the country's law enforcement agencies stepped up investigations into match-fixing at soccer games.

"Singapore is committed to eradicate match-fixing as a transnational crime and protect the integrity of the sport," Singapore's police and anti-corruption agency said.

The agency acknowledged the involvement of Interpol and said it would continue working with the international policing agency.

In April, Singapore authorities charged a local businessman and three Lebanese soccer officials over an attempt to fix a match in Singapore.

The Lebanese officials were jailed while the businessman, who denies any involvement, is awaiting trial.

Italian prosecutors allege that Mr Tan made millions of dollars from rigging Italian matches between 2008 and late 2011 by bribing players, referees and club officials.

Chris Eaton, a top international sports investigator and a former head of security for the soccer governing body FIFA, said Mr Tan's arrest was "enormously significant".

"These people bridge the match-fixers and the betting fraud," Mr Eaton, a former Australian Federal Police agent, said.

Police in Rome said the Singapore arrests were the result of a long investigation by police in the city-state and were not in response to warrants for Mr Tan's arrest issued in Europe.

The could mean Mr Tan will be put on trial in Singapore, avoiding extradition problems.